Chapter 16: An Oklahoma Ride
924 Words
Chapter 16: An Oklahoma Ride
Alamo Pasture
10:51 A.M.
Tyranny was an angel, happy to pace alongside Cord’s horse. She was a Paint, with splotches of rawhide brown against her bright white hide. She was mellow, and she seemed to like me. And she didn’t seem to mind when I pulled on her reins; she whinnied, perhaps excited by being out in the Alamo Pasture on this beautiful summer day.
I was taking to riding like a duck takes to water. I think even Cord was surprised by how I’d mounted Tyranny with no problem, holding the reins like I’d been born to it. I felt like a natural riding the filly, and she and I were instant friends.
Cord was bareback on Blade, a contemptuous Quarter Horse the same onyx as Cord’s thick hair, almost blue in the Oklahoma sun. Blade looked pretty big. Cord told me he was fourteen hands high and about fifteen hands long. He reminded me of Cord, truth be told: powerful, aggressive, and muscular in all the right places.
The Alamo Pasture was a field of prairie grasses stretching far past the house and farm buildings, with the river where the boys had kissed and swum about a mile away. The field seemed to run all the way to the horizon, where storm clouds were massing. I thought the storm would probably hit us within the hour.
Cord said, “Keep Tyranny a few paces from Blade’s side. Blade doesn’t like any horses besides Oscar.”
“Who’s Oscar?” I asked, curious.
“An Appaloosa.”
“Are they boyfriends?”
“Oscar’s a player. He likes all the horses. Blade is in love with him, though.”
“You think some animals are queer, Cord?”
“I do. A few years ago I had two mares, Cindy and Bella. They loved each other. I needed to separate them for a while, but I couldn’t keep them apart. No matter what I did, they wanted to be back together.”
“Sort of like gay men,” I added, bouncing up and down on Tyranny’s back.
“Just like us,” he responded. “We’re attracted to each other and…I think we want to be together.”
The smells of the prairie grasses and the oncoming storm were so fresh they almost had me hard. I digested Cord’s comment as I breathed in a big lungful, then replied, “We do like being together.”
“Which brings me to my next question, Bradley Hull.”
“And what is that?” I asked, enjoying just being outside, riding along in the Oklahoma landscape.
“Why did you come to Oklahoma?”
Thunder rolled just then in the distance and the wind picked up. I looked up to see that the clouds had thickened into bruise-colored swirls. I watched the storm gathering a moment, then said, “Because I kept thinking every day that I missed you, that I liked having you around.”
“I hooked you.”
“I won’t lie, you did.”
“What was it that made you fall for me?”
Lightning flashed in the distance, splinters of golden-white light flying between the heavens and the earth. Our horses started to act up, getting jittery, knowing that all hell would break loose once the storm hit us.
“Everything about you. Your confidence. Your city-boy job and attitude. Your charm. There’s very little that I didn’t like about you.”
Another roar of thunder rolled over us and Blade reared. Cord immediately tightened his thighs on the horse and started soothing him, rubbing his neck and talking to him in a low voice. Once he’d gotten Blade calmed down, he said, “We have to get back to the ranch. Tyranny’s pretty calm during storms, but Blade isn’t.”
“Lead the way,” I replied, wishing our conversation about our connection hadn’t ended so abruptly. But we’d talk about it again, I knew. It would come up again soon.
* * * *
Stables, Arched Q Ranch
11:43 A.M.
We turned the horses around and headed back at a gallop; the storm had rushed up in a matter of minutes and was almost directly overhead. The blue-purple-gray sky was pouring down rain by the time we reached the barn, complete with thunder, lightning, and wind.
Cord closed the barn up tight against the storm and we unsaddled the horses. They were spooked by the storm, and we soothed them as we wiped them down. Blade’s stall was next to an Appaloosa with a burned-wood sign saying “Oscar” on the stall door. Oscar poked his head out of his stall and gave a huge whinny. Blade answered with a huge whinny of his own, and the two horses tossed their heads at each other, almost making me think they were greeting each other. Tyranny shared a stall with with Collin, another Paint, and both whinnied with delight, shaking their heads. Two more Paints were in a third stall. Cord told me they were twins, Jack and Jill.
Once Cord had checked all the horses, he removed his Stetson and ran a hand through his thick black hair. Hot and sweaty, he was a feast for my eyes. He asked, “Do you want to brave the storm and walk back to the house, or stay here where it’s dry?”
“What the hell, let’s brave the storm together.”
“You’ll get soaked,” he warned. “You ready for that?”
I started to unbutton my shirt, exposing my chest, and said, “The rain will feel pretty good against my skin.”
“Almost as good as my lips on your chest.”
I winked at him and pulled off my shirt, showing off my hairless torso with its cut abs and plump pecs. I grinned devilishly and replied, “Almost, but not quite.”
Cord removed his shirt, displaying his magazine-model torso for my pleasure. He took my shirt and hung it with his on a hook, then topped them with his Stetson. He took my hand and yanked me to him, giving me a huge chest bump. He leaned in and, our lips almost touching, asked, “You ready to face the storm, Bradley?”
“I was ready as soon as I left Florida, Mr. Darringer.”
“I knew that about you, didn’t I?”
“You did, guy. I think you knew even before I did.”
- Writer
